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Monday, September 1, 2014

UNDERGROUND SOLDIER by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch -- a review

“The corpses around me provided an odd sort of
comfort…”The first sentence of this
young people’s novel sets the scene.This will not be a light easy story.

Caught in the middle of World War II, Luka is a young
teenager in Kyiv. He is captured and shipped to Germany as an Ostarbeiter
[eastern worker], a forced labourer in a munitions factory.Luka escapes, under those corpses, and
attempts to make his way back home to Kyiv to find his family.

The reader learns very much about survival, persistence,
and a child’s determination to reach family and home.Luka’s experiences are so detailed that one
stops breathing along with him when he is again and again in danger of being
discovered by this guard or that soldier. He must make decisions that an adult would
have difficulty with.Luka grows up the
hard way.He is on a mission to find his
parents and a friend, Lida, in the maelstrom of war, and risks everything to do
so.

The reader learns so much through Luka’s experiences about
history, warfare, medicine, pharmacology, and human relations.Skrypuch is a meticulous researcher, and the
reader learns about everything from dressing your wounds with fresh cow’s milk
to knowing how to walk in the woods in another’s footprints to avoid
detection.The horrific history of
Ukraine during the war and the battles against both the Nazis and the Soviets –
and the unbelievable inhuman cruelty of both – are shown on a personal
level.The friendships are also there –
of Luka and David, his Jewish friend in Kyiv, and of Luka and his escaped Czech
trek-mate Martina.Luka’s life in the
UPA – the Ukrainian Insurgent Army is related in detail, and demonstrates the
international make-up of this underground army fighting on two fronts with no
external support other than the local population.

A map of Central and Eastern Europe would have helped the
reader envision the regions and distances Luka travels.Even
though this is a work of fiction, it is based on and inspired by the real
experiences of Dr. Peter J. Potichnyj, a retired professor of political science.History is not just what is in a
textbook.History is the accumulation of
the lives of individual people living
through a particular time.

There is an Author's Note at the back which provides
short information on several key historical events such as the Bykivnia
massacre (an event, of so many in Ukraine, about which even most Ukrainians do
not know).

I found it difficult to read this book, and the other two
in this series, but not because of the writing, which is excellent.I wanted to keep reading each of the books,
but could only do so in short segments. The writer recreates the atmosphere and the
situations of war so realistically that my heart and nerves could not take much at
once.All I could envision was the
experience of my parents, young adults at the time, as forced labourers in
Germany during the war.Possibly someone
with no connection to the war would find it less stressful to read.

Most of the children’s and young people’s books about
World War II in Europe published so far have been about experiences of The
Holocaust.The Diary of Anne Frank is well-known, and is on most reading lists
and in curricula.The three companion
books on World War II by Marsha Skrypuch should be required reading in schools
along with Frank’s Diary.

Even though this is classified as "juvenile fiction", I
recommend that adults read all three companion books.Underground Soldier is the final book in
the author's trilogy on young Ukrainians in World War II.The first two are Stolen Child and
Making Bombs for Hitler.These do
not necessarily have to be read in the order published, but the lives of the characters in the three books are intertwined.Skrypuch has written 19 books, many
award-winning, on topics that other authors have not approached.Not only is she a fine writer, Skrypuch is a
determined and dogged champion for the underdog and the topics avoided by the
mainstream.

Regrettably, while the author’s other books are available
in the USA, this and the companion books are not.

Skrypuch’s deeply moving books in this series take us
into the horrible world of war and its effect on ordinary people.Regrettably, with the Russian invasion of
Ukraine right now, there is no end to the eternal Ukrainian struggle for independence
and peace -- and how this affects the nation and individuals.

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ABOUT ME

I'm a writer, translator, and speaker, mostly on things Ukrainian. People often turn to me for information on Ukrainian traditions, costumes, culture, and all related "stuff." If I don't know, I try to find out. On this blog, will share links to my various articles on (hopefully) interesting topics.
I retired from the University of Manitoba Libraries in September 2010. Have been trying to catch up to myself every since (the story of my life)....

Prairie Fire -- "Echoes from Ukrainian Canada."Special issue on Ukrainian Canadian literature, October 1992. Co-initiator of issue and member of guest editorial board.One non-fiction work and one review.

Spirit of Ukraine:500 Years of Ukrainian Painting.Winnipeg:Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1991.Co-editor (one of four) and translator.

Carpathia Credit Union -- 50 Years of Service to the Community.Winnipeg:Carpathia Credit Union, 1990.Co-author with Dr. Halyna Muchin.

Writer of three anniversary brochures for the Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Winnipeg:1972, English text; 1979, Ukrainian text; 1982, Ukrainian and English text.

Over 400 published articles in numerous publications -- The Globe and Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, Prairie Fire, University of Manitoba Alumni Journal, Prairie Garden, Canadian [Antiques] Collector, Forum: a UkrainianReview, and -- columnist for The UkrainianWeekly (Parsippany, New Jersey).

SOME OF MY LECTURE SUBJECTS

Why We Do What We Do:Origins and Symbolism of Ukrainian Traditions

Baba Was Right All Along: Ukrainian Folk Medicine

Songs Your Mother Should Never Have Taught You?Erotic Symbolism in Ukrainian Folk Songs

Konopli - Hemp in Ukrainian Tradition and Life

Perogies on the Prairies: from Ukrainian Village to Mainstream Canada

Origins of Ukrainian Traditions

Ukrainian Wedding Traditions in Manitoba (and general)

Pysanky - Ukrainian Easter Eggs and What They Mean

Ukrainian Christmas

Symbolism in Ukrainian Songs and in Folk Art

Free-for-all re Things Ukrainian

My 15th Folk Art and Culture Tour of Ukraine in 2012

The dates for 2013 are Aug. 22-Sept. 8. Please book early.

Folks are asking about this tour -- word of mouth is good! But if you are interested, act quickly to be sure to go. You'll need to reserve with Martha Banias at The Great Canadian Travel Company, and also be sure that your passport is not within 6 months of expiring at the time of the trip!